Grace's Lie
by Cubit2
Summary: Grace lied and made a bad choice. The question is why? My fix/missing scene from 6.06 Na Pilikua Nui (Monsters) Spoilers!
1. Chapter 1

Missing scene from 6.06 Na Pilikua Nui (Monsters) Spoilers!

A/N The characters are not mine.

A/N In my opinion, the writers made a huge mistake in this ep. They already did an ep where Grace lied to Danny about where she was going. This one needed something more, something different. This is my attempt to fix that. This missing scene assumes a missing scene, or at least one line, between Danny and Grace.

A/N It also made no sense that Danny and Grace didn't get back until late enough in the morning for the hospital to be having a Halloween party – a day after Halloween, but whatever, I won't touch that one.

H50 H50 H50

When Danny's visit with Charlie was finished, he was exhausted. He had been up all night driving 35 miles to get Grace, heading back and then hitting the guardrail when he swerved to miss the wild boar. On top of that, the night before had been a short one, having been sent to the sight where the gruesome cut up bodies had been found. Thank God it was Sunday. Steve had sent him a text saying they had wrapped the case up so he didn't need to work. He headed out to the parking lot and sighed as he remembered - he didn't have a car. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he called Steve and asked him for a ride, saying he'd tell him everything when he got there.

He sunk down on a bench outside and waited, nearly asleep by the time Steve pulled up in his truck.

"Where's your car?" Steve asked as Danny climbed in. He put the truck in gear and headed out.

"Nice to see you too, Steven, and Charlie's doing great. Thanks for asking. What happened to your face?"

"A little run in with our Frankenstein killer. I'm fine."

"Sorry I wasn't there to back you up."

"Family first, Danny." He looked at his friend now. He looked exhausted and he appeared to be wearing the same clothes he had on yesterday. "You okay?"

"Yeah. No." Danny sighed. "Need some sleep."

"You want to tell me what happened first or how Charlie's doing?"

Danny smiled a tired smile. "He's doing really well. He dressed up as a Sheriff so he could be a cowboy and a cop like me."

Steve smiled broadly. "That's great! He really loves his Danno, huh?"

"I hope so." Danny sighed again.

"Come on man. Talk to me. What is it?"

"It's Grace."

Steve sat up straighter in his seat and looked at Danny, alarmed. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"Nothing like that," Danny assured him, allowing Steve to relax a bit. "She's just not handling all this stuff with Charlie as well as I thought."

"Angry? Jealous?"

"Both. Throw in confused and scared while you're at it."

"Ah man. It's a tough situation, that's for sure. But I know you've been trying to give her as much attention as you did before."

"Yeah, but I can't. There's just not enough hours in the day. Charlie's just a kid. Somebody needs to be there with him all the time. Sometimes Grace just gets stuck at home with the maid if she doesn't want to sit at the hospital with Charlie and me." He rubbed his face in exhaustion.

"She's a smart girl. I'm sure she understands," Steve said.

"That's what you said about Charlie," Danny reminded him. "On some level she understands, yeah, but it's still rough. I don't ever want her thinking she's not as important to me now that I know that Charlie is mine but I also have to be there for him. He's my kid, too."

"Seems to me like you need more family," Steve said.

"I thought about asking my parents, but I know they can't afford airfare out here again. Besides, Mom hasn't taken the news of Charlie very well. I have the dubious distinction of being the only member of the family to get divorced and the only one with an illegitimate child," Danny admitted quietly. "She's doing better now, but, they just can't come and help."

Steve reached over with his right hand and gripped Danny's shoulder. There really wasn't anything he could say about Danny's mom, but he knew he could help anyway. "Then how about Uncle Steve?"

Danny turned and looked at him, his eyes expressing gratitude for the show of support. "What about Uncle Steve?"

"Charlie doesn't know me – yet – but Grace does. Instead of leaving her home with the maid, she can spend some time with me."

Tears sprang unbidden to Danny's eyes and he covered his mouth with his hand. How did he ever gain a friend like this? He sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes, but they wouldn't stop quite that easily.

Steve slapped Danny on the shoulder now and grinned. "Mark the record books. I left you speechless."

Danny sniffed again, gaining a bit of composure now with the help of Steve's dumb joke. "Neanderthal."

They rode in companionable silence for a few moments before Danny spoke again. "I think she'd like that. I'll talk to her. Thanks, babe." He paused a moment before adding, "You sure?"

"I'm sure. So, where was she?"

"At a house party out on the North Shore. It was wild. I was so tempted to walk in there wearing my badge and gun." He chuckled lightly, and then sobered. "She had the nerve to tell me I was embarrassing her when I told her to leave." He took a deep calming breath. "When I spoke to her about lying to me and her mother you know what she said? She said Rachel lied to me about Charlie for three years. As if that made it right." He clenched his fists and growled in frustration.

"Kind of a tough road to go down," Steve said, understanding his friend's frustration.

"She lied to me about where she was going once before, when she went to the ice cream shop with that boy. She felt so guilty after. We talked and I thought she understood how important it was that I could trust her, and now this."

"Look, she's just acting out, trying for some attention. You should have seen some of the things I did after my Mom died. Well, after we thought she died. I just wanted my Dad to notice me, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. It's just so hard, so complicated."

"I'm here for you, Danno, the rest of the team, too. Let us help."

"Yeah, thanks, babe." Danny wasn't very good at asking for help. He was the one people came to, not the other way around. But this team, his ohana, had proven already that they were there for him, Steve especially. "Really, thank you." Again, he was at a loss for words.

"So now, tell me what happened to your car and why you're stinking up my truck with the same clothes you had on yesterday."

Danny sighed. "I was driving back with Grace and there was this wild boar…"

finished


	2. Uncle Steve and Grace

Grace's Lie chapter 2

A/N I don't own the characters.

A/N I had no intention of adding on to this story, but several people asked for more and I wrote this up just for them. (The power of detailed reviews!)

H50 H50 H50

When Steve had offered to help Danny with Grace sometime, he had fully meant it. He didn't, however, expect it to happen quite this quickly but here he was pulling up to Rachel and Stan's estate to pick her up. He had barely stopped when she came running out to greet him, carrying a purple duffle bag and a surfboard. "Uncle Steve!"

Steve turned the engine off and got out of the car. "Hey Gracie!" he said, grabbing her into a hug after she put the board down. "How are you?"

She gave a typical bored young teen response. "Fine."

"You ready to go surfing?"

"Oh yeah!" she replied enthusiastically as Steve carried her board to the back of the truck. "Danno hasn't taken me for a long time. First the Charlie thing and then the sprained ankle. It's been a while." Her mom and Stan never took her.

"You know he tried really hard to learn to surf for you. It's not easy to learn as an adult." Steve figured to just get her talking about her dad might help her open up to him.

"Especially when you're terrified of the ocean," Grace added.

Steve was surprised Grace knew that. Danny always tried to cover it up when Grace was around, even going so far as learning to surf himself, just for her. His surprise must have shown.

"You do know he's scared of the ocean, don't you?" Grace asked Steve. When he nodded she went on. "Uncle Matty said Danno's best friend drowned in the ocean in front of him." It was sad to think of her Uncle but it was worse to never talk about him, pretend he never existed.

"Billy Selway," Steve said. "Your dad told me about him." Steve would never forget the name or the grief in his partner's voice as he told the story. He thought about how difficult it would be to lose his best friend - Danny. How much tougher when you were just a kid and didn't yet know that we were all mortal.

"He never told me himself," Grace huffed.

"I don't think that's the kind of thing a father ever wants to have to tell his daughter. He only told me to get me to stop hassling him about not swimming I think."

Grace turned in her seat now, to look at Steve. "You and Danno are really close, right?"

"I like to think so."

"You think he's changed?"

Now that was an interesting question, Steve thought. "Changed how?"

"Since Charlie." She said it as if the mention of her brother's name explained everything. In a way, it did.

Steve paused for a moment, unsure what to say. This had gone way beyond what he had imagined. He felt in over his head. But, there was no way to call for backups now. If you asked him later, he'd have no idea where the words came from. "Well, yes and no. His love for you hasn't changed a bit. He loves you with all his heart and always will." He glanced at her and smiled. "But now he has another child. Charlie is a part of him just like you are, even though he didn't know it before. So now he loves Charlie with all his heart, too. We're lucky." He paused a moment as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Danno has a heart big enough for all of us."

This caused Grace to burst into tears, startling Steve. "I love Danno so much. And now Charlie calls him Danno too and it just makes me so mad sometimes. Sometimes I hate Charlie."

"I call him Danno. Do you hate me?"

"No! I could never hate you," she wiped the tears from her eyes, getting back in control. "It's just… " She paused to think. "Oh, I don't know. Everything is just so different now. Danno tries to be nice to mom in front of me but he's so angry I can feel it. And I know why. I get it. Mom lied to him. She lied to all of us. She lied for three years as if it was nothing. I mean, how could she do that? Sometimes I'm just so angry I want to scream. Why would she lie like that?"

"Maybe that's a question your parents should answer," Steve said, not wanting to get too deep into anything that wasn't truly his business.

"Danno just said that Mom thought it was best for Charlie. I think he didn't want to make Mom look bad so he wouldn't say more. He's like that. Mom said we'll talk about it another time, which means never." She was on a roll now and just kept talking. The normally quiet girl was showing a bit of her dad right now. "I can't decide what I think. I mean, Stan's super rich and mom really likes that so maybe that's why? Or maybe because my dad's job is dangerous. He's been hurt so much lately and mom gets angry like it's his fault. But, she's been lying for three years. I remember he was in the hospital a while ago. You brought me there to see him. I heard her tell Stan that Danno almost died because he couldn't breathe. Maybe that was it?"

"Not a question I can answer, Grace," Steve told her. He knew what Danny had told him about Rachel's excuse for the huge deception and Grace was pretty spot-on with the dangerous job theory. Stan being rich probably factored in as well.

Grace growled in frustration, sounding much like her father.

"Honey, come on. I'm not trying to brush you off, it's just not my place to make a guess here."

"I know," Grace sighed, sinking back in the seat.

"But one thing I can tell you is that hating Charlie is not the answer. None of this is his fault."

Grace sat up straighter now and turned to look at Steve. "I don't really hate him, Uncle Steve." It was suddenly important to her that he know that. "He's really, really lucky to have Danno as his dad. I mean, Stan's okay and all, but he's not Danno." Even at 13 there was still a bit of hero worship for her dad. "You know what I mean?"

Steve smiled. "I know what you mean. He's the kind of dad everybody wishes they had."

"Yeah!" Grace agreed. "I know it's kind of selfish but there's a part of me that doesn't want to share him with anyone. I mean he picks Charlie up and calls him Tiger and he loves Charlie so much that I'm afraid he won't have any left for me. But then I know that's not true. I know he loves me just as much as he always did and I just get so confused." She took a closer look at Steve now. "Uncle Steve, what happened to your face?"

"Nothing to worry about Grace. A suspect just put up a bit of a fight."

"Where was my dad? He's supposed to have your back, isn't he?"

"Uhh," Steve hesitated, not wanting Grace to feel bad. But he knew that Danny always tried to tell Grace the truth, even if it was a watered down kids version. "He went to get you."

"You got hurt because of me," Grace said.

"No. It happened because the suspect wanted to get away. Your dad being there wouldn't have changed anything."

"But he should have been there, right?" Grace asked. Her tone indicated that she wanted a straight answer, not false platitudes.

"Yes, he should have been there with me. We're partners. But family always comes first, especially for your dad."

"I was really dumb."

"You want to talk about it?"

"I knew mom wouldn't let me go and no way Danno would. But, I really wanted to go. It sounded exciting and it would make me look good to be there. There were older kids there and all the cool kids."

"Weren't you worried about what might happen there?"

"I didn't really think about that," Grace admitted sheepishly. "Danno has warned me about the kinds of things kids do and how to avoid drinking and stuff, but I just told myself that nothing would happen. I didn't even think mom would find out that I wasn't at the sleepover. She doesn't pay much attention lately."

Steve decided to do something that was pretty difficult for him, to share some of his feelings. But it was Grace's father who had taught him how to do that and so if it could help her and her dad, it was worth it. "I was 16 when my mom was in a bad car accident. When the police came to the door and told us she was dead, our whole world changed in an instant."

"Kind of like us finding out about Danno being Charlie's dad and not Stan?"

"Yeah, a lot like that. It just changed everything. My dad, he didn't say much, didn't talk about what happened. I felt like I was invisible."

"I know what you mean," Grace agreed. "Not my dad, but my mom. Danno always tries to make time for me, even if it means he can't see Melissa – or can't do his job," she added guiltily. "Mom, though, everything is Charlie this and Charlie that. Like hello? I'm here too!"

"It stinks, doesn't it?"

"Totally."

"She still loves you though."

"I guess."

He couldn't really speak for Rachel so he shifted the conversation back to what she did on Halloween night. "What if something had happened at that party? Something you weren't ready to handle?"

"I don't know." She said honestly and then paused for a moment. "I was stupid. But, I was so embarrassed when Danno came and got me. I don't think I've ever seen him that angry before. He looked like he was going to explode." She giggled slightly then. "This guy who was talking to me was dressed like a Roman soldier. Danno threatened to make him into a Roman popsicle with his plastic sword if he didn't move away from me. I wanted to sink into the floor at the time, but kind of funny when I think about it now."

Steve smirked. Sounded like Danno, always the creative one. "He loves you very much, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I never wanted to hurt him or scare him or anything."

"Well, you definitely did scare him. Scared me too." Steve wouldn't speak for Rachel.

"I'll be smarter next time, Uncle Steve. I promise."

"I hope so. You know if you ever need someone to talk to, you can give me a call."

"We're ohana, right?" Grace said with a grin.

"Right." He pulled into the parking lot they would use for their day of surfing. "You ready?"

"Would it be okay if I called Danno first?" She wasn't sure exactly what she'd say, she just needed to hear his voice. "He's with Charlie, you think he'll mind?"

"I don't think he'll mind one bit, Grace. But if he's speaking with a doctor he might not be able to answer so don't be disappointed." His comment reminded her that her dad's visits with Charlie weren't all fun and games. There was much stress involved.

She nodded her understanding and then pushed the first speed dial on her phone and waited a moment. "Hi Danno." She paused just a moment, listening. "It's good to hear your voice too." Her smile could have lit up the whole island.

finished


End file.
